Gene ties lifespan to calorie limit

Scientists have known for seven decades that mice, dogs, fruit flies and other animals given diets bordering on starvation tended to live up to 40% longer than their better-fed cousins. Now they think they know why.

They identified a gene in roundworms that directly links calorie restriction to longer lifespan, according to a report in the journal Nature.

The researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla said a gene called \o7pha-4 \f7plays a role in gut development in embryonic worms but in adults is associated with calorie-restricted longevity. Humans have three genes very much like \o7pha-4\f7.